And We All Fall Down
by UndergroundValentine
Summary: The wyvern's screams and the Duke's shouts faded from his ears, but Fenris was frozen in the center of the court, staring at the vacant space where Hawke had been before. Fenris X Female!Hawke


**[And We All Fall Down]**

Drenched in a light layer of sweat, his sword feeling heavier than normal in his hands, Fenris risks a glance away from his fallen enemy to watch Hawke, across the vast and open court, stand at the cliff's edge, shoulder glowing in green from the wyvern's blast. Her eyes were hard, focused in a deadly gaze with the massive beast, its owner riding its shoulders, barking curses at the Champion.

His gaze faltered to her again, lingering there for a long, still moment. Even at this distance, he could make out the hard set of her jaw, the way she held her long sword in gauntlet clad palms loose yet eager, and the fact that her offset stance meant she was ready for one of two things, to duck out of the way or spring off the edge at the last possible moment.

Deep within his chest, Fenris felt a twist of his heart and, beside him, Varric came close, clutching Bianca in one hand. The dwarf's cheeks were red and he was breathing hard. The wyvern had given them all a bit of a workout with its constant charging and the Duke's "surprises" being blown up inches from their toes. Across the court, the assassin elf Tallis clutched her blades, her eyes flicking back and forth between the Duke and Hawke.

An ear-shattering roar came from within the wyvern, Leopald, then, and Fenris squeezed his eyes shut, willing the sound to be blocked from his senses. Naturally, it was of no avail, and when the screeching died out, he opened his eyes again. The earth rumbled beneath his feet and he turned his attention to Hawke, watching the warrior's face as she braced herself, her sword raised as the wyvern charged at her with blinding speed and force.

"Hawke!" Fenris shouted before he could stop himself the moment he realized that his companion wasn't going to duck out of the way. His own blade slipped from his claw-like grasp and he raced forward, knowing in his mind before his heart could give a squeeze of agony that there was no way he could reach her in time, no way to push her from the wyvern's path.

He watched a flash of light glinting off of Hawke's blade as she sliced through the wyvern, tumbling over the edge with the beast and its owner. The wyvern's screams and the Duke's shouts faded from his ears, but he was frozen in the center of the court, staring at the vacant space where Hawke had been before. A light wind kicked through his hair, pushing white locks into his eyes.

Fenris waited, and waited, and nothing happened. Not a sound was heard and no one moved. Varric was silent behind him and he couldn't even bring himself to care where Tallis was or what she was doing. In the back of his mind, he was already planning the best way to charge down the assassin and rip her heart out for bringing Hawke into this blighted mess.

Fenris' knees wobbled and he felt himself starting to fall. He tore his gaze from the cliff's edge as tears clung at the corners of his eyes. As his knees hit, he wondered why he was feeling so many different things at once. So torn, so hurt and lost at watching Hawke's tumble. Sure, they'd been close since the warrior aided him against Hadriana and the slavers, and he could still remember the way he went to her home, told her that she'd been the one and only thing on his mind, the way they kissed, the way she felt beneath him when they…

"Fenris," he heard a voice, but he couldn't bring himself to look at his companion. He couldn't do it. Not until a hand too meaty to be Tallis' gripped his shoulder and shook him did he look up with drawn eyebrows and a scowl at the dwarf.

"What?" He roared, but Varric's eyes were not on him. They were elsewhere, and when Fenris followed the line he understood. A hand and an arm had swung up the cliff's face onto the surface, tips of gauntlet fingers clawing into the dirt. He could recognize that armor anywhere, and his heart leapt to his throat.

"Go," Varric gruffed before shoving the elf to his feet. "Go!"

Fenris' feet carried him to the edge, where he found Hawke desperately trying to pull herself back up. He could see no sign of the wyvern, the Duke or her sword, but none of that mattered. As gently as he could, Fenris curled his hand around her free forearm, shivering as her cool-plated hand repeated the motion on his own arm. He pulled, feeling her opposite arm hook around his neck as he slid his own free arm around her waist, pulling her up and onto the surface of the cliff.

In his arms, Hawke was shaking, pressed close and tight to his lithe frame. For a moment, Fenris wondered if the near death experience had really shaken the warrior to the core before he realized he, too, was trembling as he held her. Her lips were parted against his neck, and every time she breathed, he could feel the tingle of his tattoos responding as if she were touching him.

It took a moment, but he finally let go of her, sitting up slowly. Hawke laid on her back, eyes shut, head tilted back as she breathed. Fenris shifted, pulling off his gauntlet before cupping her face. His palm tingled and he knew she felt it, because she shivered and opened her eyes to meet his.

"Don't ever," he said, breathing slowly, "scare me like that again."

Hawke smiled softly, her blue eyes warm and teasing. "Missed me that much already?"

"You can't begin to imagine it," Fenris said with a small smile as he leaned down, capturing her lips in a hard but sweet kiss.


End file.
